Help I think bike is too small.

benash1984

Hi hopefully somebody can help.

I recently bought a boardman comp second hand for my 1st bike.
It was advertised as a "medium" so I nipped down halfords and got sized up.
"Medium" was perfect fit as I'm 5'10".

I then received the bike and on 1st impressions very happy, wheels were true not a mark on it etc etc,
However the seller had made a mistake in his advert and the bike is actually a "small"

I no I should send it back but it would cost me a small fortune in a courier or its a 200 mile round trip,
If I come to the conclusion I can't ride it ill just sell on for what I paid.

I feel it's too small as the seat has to be raised very high and I feel I'm leaning too far forward and I can see the whole hub and maybe 2-3cm on top of that as well.

So I spose my question is can I do anything about this??
Maybe buy a longer stem for example? Or is it just a waste of time as the frame is just too small and I should just cut my losses and sell it on.

Any advice would be great.

Many thanks
Ben

mallorcajeff

sorry mate for your height thats too small, A longer stem will be putting a plaster on a gaping wound. You can courier a bike for about £20 not much really, say you lost £100 on the sale its cheaper to send it back. Buy a bike that fits would be my suggestion. I know you thought you had but try and take it up with the guy you bought it from, if not trying to ride it I think you will never be happy or comfortable on it.

simon_masterson

At a guess, it sounds a lot like the bike is indeed too small.

But none of us can judge without seeing. Bike geometry varies and so do people and their proportions, so it isn't possible to assign a particular size to a person. If you want to you could sit on the bike and have someone hold it up, or balance against a wall (or something) and get a picture of what you look like on the bike; otherwise cut your losses.

I concur with Jeff above that it's not ideal to resolve significant deficit of top tube with a longer stem. Ideally on an off-the-peg frame (made-to-measure doesn't seem to be as popular with carbon fibre as with steel) you should have a frame that 'roughly' fits you; allowing the stem to 'fine tune'.

Wacky Racer

If the seller advertised the bike with incorrect information you are entitled to return it for a full refund, including postage. And it is their problem arranging return postage too. Hopefully you used Paypal? Assuming so then you hold all the aces.

MikeWW

Too small-you need a medium

mk1markfalkirk

benash1984 wrote:

Hi hopefully somebody can help.


I feel it's too small as the seat has to be raised very high and I feel I'm leaning too far forward and I can see the whole hub and maybe 2-3cm on top of that as well.

Sorry to hijack but can someone tell me the rule of thumb regarding this? I tend to sit forward on my saddle and can also see the hub from in front of the forks. However when I slide back a touch to have me sit bones on the wider part of the saddle(where I'm actually supposed to sit) I am positioned directly over and cannot see the hub from the front or rear. It also depends where how my hands and arms are positioned. :?:

That sound ok?

GSJ

mk1markfalkirk wrote:

benash1984 wrote:

Hi hopefully somebody can help.


I feel it's too small as the seat has to be raised very high and I feel I'm leaning too far forward and I can see the whole hub and maybe 2-3cm on top of that as well.

Sorry to hijack but can someone tell me the rule of thumb regarding this? I tend to sit forward on my saddle and can also see the hub from in front of the forks. However when I slide back a touch to have me sit bones on the wider part of the saddle(where I'm actually supposed to sit) I am positioned directly over and cannot see the hub from the front or rear. It also depends where how my hands and arms are positioned. :?:

That sound ok?

Generally (from what i've been told) when sitting forward like you say, you should be able to see the hub. If you were sitting back and you could still see hub then my first guess would be the bike is small but that's not the case for you so you're okay.

benash1984

Many thanks for all your help and replies.
The seller has been very good about the situation and I think it was a genuine typo on his part.
The bike is being returned for full refund today.
I am now on hunt for a medium sized bike

Thanks again
Ben